Kiev has imposed sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s economic aide, Kirill Dmitriev, and other senior officials involved in talks
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has imposed sanctions on several Russian officials, including Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s economic aide and a key figure in the peace process.
The sanctions announced on Sunday also targeted five Russian publishing houses.
Dmitriev, who heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, has emerged as one of leading negotiators in the Ukraine conflict settlement process. The Harvard-educated former banker has visited the US several times for meetings with officials from the administration of President Donald Trump to discuss peace initiatives.
Dmitriev has stressed the importance of dialogue and cautioned Washington against repeating what he described as the failed approach of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. Policies based on confrontation have proven ineffective, he added.
In a statement published on his website, Zelensky accused Dmitriev of “spreading propaganda and attracting Russian investments into key sectors of foreign economies.” He also linked the move to Moscow’s decision to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials, including Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko.
Kiev said it would “share its proposals for new sanctions with the relevant partners,” adding that Russia “deserves far greater global pressure.”
The list of newly sanctioned officials also includes Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin, a member of Russia’s negotiating team at the Istanbul talks earlier this year. As part of the Istanbul process, Russia and Ukraine agreed to conduct several POW swaps and exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Moscow has stated that it seeks a lasting solution to the conflict that addresses the root causes. Ukraine and its Western backers have repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire, while Russia insists that this would only allow Ukraine to regroup its military and receive more weapons.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last month, Dmitriev said Moscow believes peace can be achieved within a year.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed concerns over recent tests of the Burevestnik missile and Poseidon drone, saying they did not involve nuclear explosions
Russia has no intention of violating its obligations under international agreements banning nuclear tests, but will resume testing if other countries do, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Peskov was responding to the controversy sparked by US President Donald Trump’s order last week directing the Pentagon to prepare to resume nuclear testing. Trump accused Russia and China of conducting “secret” nuclear tests – which both countries have dismissed.
President Vladimir Putin later reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to the internationally recognized Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, but warned that if the US or others resume testing, Moscow would take “appropriate retaliatory measures.” Some Western outlets misinterpreted his remarks as an order to prepare for tests.
“Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia is committed to its nuclear test ban obligations, and we have no intention of violating them,” Peskov said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin aired on Sunday.
He added that Putin instructed officials to assess whether nuclear tests are necessary, rather than ordering their resumption, while warning that Russia would act in kind if the US or others resume testing.
“If another country does this, we will be obliged to do so in order to maintain parity,” he said, calling nuclear balance “one of the most important components of global security architecture.”
Peskov dismissed Western concerns about Russia’s recent trials of the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon underwater drone which preceded Trump’s announcement, arguing that neither involved nuclear explosions.
He accused Western “experts” of “superficial and incorrect” conclusions that confused nuclear tests with trials of nuclear-powered systems, adding that Moscow expects clarification from Washington about Trump’s statements on nuclear tests, calling the issue “too serious” to ignore.
US Vice President J.D. Vance earlier described Trump’s push for nuclear testing as a way to ensure the country’s arsenal still “functions properly.” Earlier this week, the US Air Force test-fired an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with an estimated yield exceeding 300 kilotons of TNT – roughly 20 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
The EU has been seeking ways to use sovereign Russian funds as collateral to fund Ukraine
There is “no legal way” for the EU to seize Russia’s frozen assets and use them to finance Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Western nations have frozen around $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets since 2022, and backed using interest from the funds last year to raise $50 billion in loans for Ukraine. This year, EU finance ministers proposed a similar €140 billion ($160 billion) ‘reparations loan’ using the assets as collateral, but weeks of debate have stalled amid legal and fiscal concerns.
“The cynicism with which the European Commission interprets the UN Charter and other international legal norms, including provisions on sovereign immunity and the inviolability of central bank assets, has long been unsurprising,” Lavrov said in an interview with RIA Novosti released on Sunday, suggesting that plans to tap the funds stem from the West’s “long-held colonial and pirate instincts” and amount to “outright deception and robbery.”
“No matter how the scheme for expropriating Russian money is orchestrated, there is no legal way to do so,” he added.
Lavrov went on to say that even if the EU finds a legal basis for the initiative, the loan “won’t save” Ukraine and would instead damage the EU, as Kiev “will never” repay its debts and the move could pose “serious reputational risks for the Eurozone as a territory of economic activity.” He warned that Russia “will respond appropriately to any predatory actions” targeting its sovereign funds.
The EU failed to approve the ‘reparations loan’ last month after Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever opposed it, warning that it would expose his country – which holds around two-thirds of the frozen assets – to legal and financial risks.
Defense Minister Theo Francken cautioned that Russia could retaliate by seizing €200 billion in Western assets, and Belgium demanded shared liability from other EU members before giving its approval.
Media reports indicate that EU officials once again failed to sway Belgium this week, with sources citing concerns over the lack of alternative proposals. Earlier initiatives, including joint borrowing or direct grants from member states, reportedly stalled amid fears they would deepen deficits and debt. The EU is expected to decide on the loan at a European Council meeting in December.
Washington’s exact intentions remain unclear, the Russian foreign minister has said
Moscow has not received any clarifications from Washington regarding the nuclear weapons tests ordered by US President Donald Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. The Kremlin is still working on a proportionate response if the US resumes full-fledged nuclear trials, he told journalists on Saturday.
Last week, Trump ordered the Department of War to begin preparations for nuclear testing, claiming the US is “the only country that doesn’t test.” Trump accused Russia and China of conducting “secret” nuclear explosions – which Moscow and Beijing have denied.
The Kremlin responded by saying it would “act accordingly” if any nation abandons the moratorium on nuclear testing, adding that it expects clarifications from Washington on the matter.
Asked for updates, Lavrov said the US has not yet clarified its intentions through diplomatic channels.
“It is unclear if it is about nuclear delivery vehicle tests or… non-critical explosions,” he stated, adding that public comments provided by US officials so far suggest they have not come to a “uniform understanding” of their own policy.
Last week, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News that the trials would not involve full-fledged nuclear explosions but could include non-critical tests.
Trump has since doubled down on his plans to restart nuclear testing, while stating that he could be working on a plan to denuclearize together with Russia and China.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said this week that Moscow will have to prepare for full-scale nuclear tests in response to the US announcement. President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that Russia will adhere to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, provided that other signatories do the same.
Putin also ordered all relevant government agencies, including the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry, to gather and analyze all necessary information on US plans in order to prepare an adequate response.
Former Deputy Defense Minister Andrey Bulyga will now serve as deputy to Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu
Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Colonel General Andrey Bulyga as deputy secretary of the National Security Council, according to a decree issued on Saturday. The top general has concurrently been relieved of his role as the Russian deputy defense minister, a position he had held since March of last year.
Prior to that, Bulyga had served as deputy commander for Russia’s Western Military District for logistics.
Bulyga will now serve as deputy to the Russian Security Council secretary and former defense minister, Sergey Shoigu.
Putin has appointed Colonel General Aleksandr Sanchik as the new deputy defense minister, according to a corresponding decree, published the same day.
Sanchik has extensive combat experience, having commanded the Russian ‘East’ and ‘South’ joint groups of forces in the Ukraine conflict.
The decorated general also fought in Russia’s counter-terrorist operation in Syria in 2015, the Russian-Georgian war in 2008, and in operations against extremist militant groups in the North Caucasus.
The ‘South’ joint group of forces is currently actively engaged in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, where it recently encircled the key Ukrainian-held stronghold of Krasnoarmeysk.
More soldiers have reportedly gone AWOL or deserted in October than in any single month since the conflict’s escalation in 2022
More than 21,000 soldiers deserted and left Kiev’s armed forces without leave last month, BBC Ukraine reported on Friday.
This was the largest single monthly number of desertion reports in the past four years of the Ukraine conflict, the broadcaster said, citing the latest data from the Prosecutor General’s Office.
According to former Ukrainian MP Igor Lutsenko, who now serves in the military, the actual number could be even higher.
On Facebook on Friday, he wrote “21,602 in October… This is a record. This is a very bad record,” adding, “This is just official data. In reality, many AWOL or desertion cases are not registered.”
Ukrainian forces on the front lines are under “enormous strain, because a double, triple load falls on every soldier who hasn’t fled,” Lutsenko added. “We have huge holes in our defense at the front because of this.”
Kiev has ramped up its forced draft campaign in recent months to compensate for its army’s thinning ranks, as Russian forces have pushed their advance.
There have been twice as many complaints about forced conscription since early June as there were during the first five months of the year, Ukrainian parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmitry Lubinets told Ukrainskaya Pravda on Wednesday.
Emerging eyewitness videos have regularly shown Ukrainian press gangs ambushing and chasing military-age men on the streets and wrestling them into vans, often brawling with the would-be conscripts and bystanders. The practice, now colloquially known as ‘busification,’ has sparked growing discontent across Ukraine.
Last month, Nikita Poturaev, the head of the Ukrainian parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, claimed that such videos were either fake or made using AI.
Earlier in October, Ukrainian conscription authorities urged citizens to stop filming and sharing videos of press gangs violently detaining prospective recruits.
The liberation of the logistics hub of Kupyansk continues, the leader of an assault unit has said
Russian forces have advanced further in the battle for the encircled city of Kupyansk in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, according to the commander of an assault unit involved in the operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that some 10,000 Ukrainian servicemen had been surrounded in Kupyansk and Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic. Kiev has not responded to Putin’s call for the blocked forces to surrender. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky continues to deny the dire situation on the ground.
In a video published by the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday, the commander of the 121st Regiment of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division, call sign Lavrik, said that his unit “continues its mission to liberate the western part of Kupyansk from the Ukrainian military.”
On Friday, his troops took control of Lesya Ukrainka Street, with mopping up operations ongoing in three other nearby streets, he said.
At least ten Ukrainian soldiers who tried holding on to their positions in the area were eliminated, according to Lavrik. Kiev’s troops entrenched in a strip of forest on the southern outskirts of Kupyansk have also been struck, he added.
“We are moving forward. Our spirits are high,” the commander said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a separate statement on Saturday that its forces “continue to destroy the encircled enemy grouping” in Kupyansk.
Zelensky, who previously denied any encirclement and accused Moscow of exaggerating its progress on the battlefield, claimed on Thursday that Ukrainian troops had been able to advance by more than a kilometer within Kupyansk. He did not say where exactly the gains were made.
Kupyansk has been a major contested logistics hub in the conflict’s northeastern front. Russian forces claimed partial control of the city in September, publishing a video of its servicemen in the center near the administration building, stadium, and TV tower.
Convicted fraudster Roman Novak and his wife were kidnapped and killed in the UAE, sources have told RT
Russian police have arrested a number of suspects said to be linked to the murder of a St. Petersburg couple in the United Arab Emirates, the Interior Ministry announced on Friday.
The two victims were cryptocurrency investor Roman Novak and his wife Anna, law enforcement sources told RT Russian earlier in the day. In 2020, a St. Petersburg court sentenced Novak to six years imprisonment on two counts of fraud, but he was released early.
Police on Friday arrested several suspects linked to their disappearance, according to footage shared by the Interior Ministry.
Multiple members of the criminal group were apprehended across several Russian regions, ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said.
According to preliminary findings shared by Russia’s Investigative Committee, the suspects kidnapped the victims in the UAE in October to extort cryptocurrency from them. Novak and his wife were living in Dubai at the time.
The group later killed the couple and buried their bodies in the desert, discarding the murder weapons and the victims’ personal belongings in various areas of the UAE, it added. Accomplices helped the group organize the kidnapping, and rented cars and the premises where the victims were held, the Investigative Committee said.
Emirati law enforcement are helping Russian authorities in the ongoing investigation, it added.
Relatives of the victims reported their disappearance to St. Petersburg authorities after they went missing following a supposed meet-up with investors on October 2.
A mass march against a bill on leaving the Istanbul Convention has been held in Riga
Thousands of people filled the streets of the Latvian capital on Thursday evening to protest legislation that would take the Baltic state out of an international treaty on combating domestic violence.
Some 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Dome Square at the center of Riga, not far from the parliament building, according to the national police.
Photos and videos that surfaced on social media showed the space filled with people holding banners and placards against the withdrawal. Several smaller protests were also held in various other locations, according to the police. No incidents were reported.
Vakar, 6. novembrī, norisinājās protests “Nosargāsim Māti Latviju” pret izstāšanos no Stambulas konvencijas. Uz protestu Rīgā, Doma laukumā pēc policijas aplēsēm bija sapulcējušies aptuveni 10 tūkstoši cilvēku. Citviet protestos bija sapulcējušies no dažiem desmitiem līdz 600… pic.twitter.com/PtnqQrmCs2
Last week, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, voted to withdraw from the treaty, but the bill was returned for reconsideration by President Edgars Rinkevics on Monday. The Council of Europe Convention, also known as the Istanbul Convention, defines violence against women as a violation of human rights. It is meant to standardize the domestic legislation of its signatories to address various forms of gender-based violence.
The agreement was opened for signature in Istanbul in 2011 and came into force three years later. Latvia signed in 2016 but ratified it only last year.
Lawmakers supporting the move claim the treaty introduces a definition of gender that goes beyond biological sex, framing it as a social construct. The MPs argue that existing national laws are sufficient to address the issue of gender-based violence.
Rīgā, Doma laukumā, kā arī citās Latvijas un pasaules pilsētās šovakar notiek protesta akcija "Nosargāsim Māti Latviju", iestājoties pret Latvijas izstāšanos no Eiropas Padomes Konvencijas par vardarbības pret sievietēm un vardarbības ģimenē novēršanu un apkarošanu jeb tā sauktās… pic.twitter.com/YnpzOLkEcR
If the parliament passes the bill without any amendments a second time, the president will not be able to veto it again. On Wednesday, MPs decided to postpone debate on the issue for a year.
Latvia has had the highest intentional homicide rate per capita among all EU nations for nearly a decade, according to the bloc’s statistics agency, Eurostat. Another Baltic state – Lithuania – had the second-highest rate as of 2023.
According to Eurostat, women accounted for 60% of all homicide victims in Latvia as of 2020.
The American soldier of fortune was allegedly duped out of $85,000 with promises of a drone-killing device
An American mercenary fighting for Ukraine was scammed out of roughly $85,000 by two local men who claimed they could build him a laser weapon to destroy drones, the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Friday.
To lend credibility to their claim, the suspects allegedly staged a fake demonstration of the supposed device, after which the unlucky soldier of fortune handed over the cash.
The suspects, who are said to have no technical expertise or plans to produce any weapon, have been charged with fraud. Around $20,000 has been recovered, prosecutors said, with efforts ongoing to retrieve the rest.
The case is one of several high-profile scams that have emerged amid the ongoing conflict. In one incident, scammers posing as a charitable foundation defrauded soldiers and a mercenary out of nearly $60,000 by promising vehicles and surveillance gear.
In another, police exposed a group that embezzled nearly $59,000 in donations meant for the army by posing as soldiers online. Scammers have also targeted relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war, pretending to be aid officials and demanding payments for parcel deliveries to the POWs.
The wave of financial crimes comes amid allegations of broader corruption in Ukraine’s defense sector. Hundreds of millions of dollars have reportedly been lost to inflated contracts and kickbacks involving defense officials.
The issue has led to tensions between Kiev and its Western backers, particularly after a dispute with the EU over Ukrainian legislation that briefly curtailed the independence of key anti-corruption agencies.
Vladimir Zelensky has insisted that his government is serious about tackling graft. During a European Summit on Enlargement on Tuesday, he claimed that during the conflict, Ukraine has built what he called Europe’s “most extensive and powerful” anti-corruption network, with more oversight bodies than any other country on the continent.
